Officer’s Acquittal in Border Slaying Sparks Protests

A U.S. Border Patrol agent who admitted shooting an unarmed drug suspect in the back was acquitted in Tucson of murder and other charges, spurring calls from activists and the Mexican government for a federal civil rights prosecution.

The 2 1/2-week trial of agent Michael Andrew Elmer concluded Wednesday when the jury declared him not guilty of murder, assault and obstruction of justice charges in connection with the shooting of Dario Miranda Valenzuela, 26, near Nogales, Ariz., on June 12.

During testimony, Elmer acknowledged firing the shots that killed Miranda, but the agent said he feared that he was under fire from drug traffickers.

Elmer fired seconds after a fellow agent, Thomas Watson, fired warning shots that Elmer said he assumed were hostile fire.

Elmer also acknowledged using an unauthorized assault rifle, dragging the dead man’s body about 50 yards and failing to report the shooting.

Miranda was shot twice in the back. He was wearing a green plastic canteen on his belt that Elmer said he mistook for a holster. The dead man’s family and Mexican authorities say Miranda was just a laborer en route north seeking work, although traces of marijuana and cocaine were found in his system.

Elmer still faces 10 counts of assault in a separate incident in which he allegedly sprayed automatic-weapon fire toward a group of about 30 unarmed border-crossers, injuring one of them. He is scheduled to go on trial in Tucson next month on those charges, which he has also denied.

Latino activists, who have been following the case closely, quickly attacked the verdict and called for the intervention of U.S. civil rights prosecutors. Critics likened the outcome to the not-guilty verdicts for the Los Angeles police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

“We cannot get justice, no matter what,” said Jesus R. Romo Vejar, a Tucson attorney and longtime advocate for Latino and immigrant causes. “We cannot allow our brothers and sisters to continue to be killed in this manner.”

One Latino sat on the 12-member jury, which deliberated for about three hours before reaching its conclusion.

U.S. and Mexican authorities were anticipating demonstrations in response to the verdict, and police in Nogales were on alert, but no major outbursts were reported.

In Mexico, the agent’s acquittal was condemned as bolstering perceptions that U.S. immigration authorities--particularly Border Patrol agents--act with impunity.

“In my opinion, justice was not done,” said Luis Enrique Castresana, Mexican consul in Tucson.

Mexican authorities planned to request formally that Elmer be prosecuted for civil rights violations, the consul said.

In response to the verdict, the U.S. attorney’s office in Phoenix and the Justice Department’s civil rights division issued a joint statement declaring that authorities would review all the evidence after state prosecution was concluded and then determine if federal charges are warranted.

U.S. officials depicted Elmer’s admitted violations as isolated incidents. He and others found to have disregarded guidelines still face possible administrative charges. Elmer, a three-year Border Patrol veteran, remains on suspension without pay.

Elmer’s attorney, Michael Piccarreta, called the southern Arizona drug-trafficking corridor area a veritable “war zone” that has pitted outnumbered law enforcement agents against heavily armed and well-financed traffickers.

“Elmer had to make a split-second decision, and he shot to save his life,” said Piccarreta.

Elmer, 29, an Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War, was being held in lieu of $100,000 bond on the separate assault charges. He could have faced life in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder charge.

The dead man’s family plans to pursue civil claims against the U.S. government, said Richard Gonzalez, a Tucson attorney who represents the relatives.

The decision in Arizona comes a week after a federal jury acquitted a San Diego Border Patrol agent, Frank Jeschke, of civil rights charges in the alleged beating of a Mexican man at a San Diego trolley stop.